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PROVO — For the third straight year, Kanab and South Sevier met in the 2A state baseball championship. And after falling to the Cowboys in back-to-back title games, South Sevier got its revenge Saturday, defeating Kanab twice — including a decisive 10-1 win in the final — to claim the 2A state championship.
Senior Peyton Ingram was the star of the day, delivering on both the mound and at the plate. Across the two games against Kanab, Ingram went 7-for-10 with three triples, six RBIs and a run scored. He also threw a complete-game three-hitter in the championship, striking out seven.
"I just wanted to throw strikes and hit the ball hard anywhere," Ingram said. "It's a big field, so I was just looking to find a gap."
South Sevier played — and won — three games Saturday to secure the title, starting with a 10-2 win over Beaver. The Rams followed with a 17-8 victory over Kanab in Game 1 of the championship and clinched the title with a dominant Game 2 performance.
"It was tough (to play three games), but we don't care," Ingram said. "We will play anyone, anywhere. We do not care."
Ingram's catcher in the title game was his younger brother, Gus.
"It was special," Ingram said. "We play catch almost every single day. It was special to share that moment with him."
Game 1: South Sevier 17, Kanab 8
South Sevier jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, capitalizing on five walks and two hits, including a triple from Bigs Northrup that scored Cannon Barney. Kanab starter Kash Kabonic was pulled after recording just two outs.
The Rams tacked on three more runs over the next three innings to go up 7-2 before Kanab fought back with a five-run fourth. Two fielding errors and a two-out, two-RBI single by Cooper Anderson tied the game at 7-7.
South Sevier regained control in the sixth. Kameron Hessey's RBI single broke the tie, and a throwing error with the bases loaded brought in another. Ingram then doubled to drive in three more, pushing the lead to 14-7. The Rams added three runs in the seventh to seal a 17-8 win and force a winner-take-all game.
Game 2: South Sevier 10, Kanab 1
The Rams started hot again, scoring four runs in the first inning behind timely hitting and a sacrifice fly. Kanyon Okerlund opened the third with a triple and later scored on Hessey's single. Brindley followed with an RBI double.
Kanab scored its only run in the third, but Ingram struck out two batters to strand runners and shut the door.
At the plate, Ingram had a double and triple through his first three at-bats.
Northrup capped off his impressive day with a sixth-inning, two-run homer to give South Sevier an 8-1 lead. Northrup finished the day with six hits, two triples, five RBIs and five runs scored across both games.
"It feels good," Ingram said. "Coming here the last two years and falling short, right now is a surreal feeling. Something you cannot experience outside of sports. The focus was to hit the ball, win the game. We had no other option other than to win."
